Visiting Artist Residency: November 19 - 23

Biography
“Glass brings another dimension to Native American art. It’s luminous quality and shadow effect are like a spirit that appears when this lighting is right”
-Preston Singletary

In a unique meeting of European glass-blowing tradition and Northwest Native design, Preston Singletary’s artwork depicts cultural and historical images from his Tlingit ancestry in richly detailed, beautifully hued glass. By infusing traditional design with fresh energy through the use of modern materials, his work pays homage to his forefathers, who feel that the past, present and future are intertwined.

Singletary entered the world of glass blowing as an assistant, learning to master the techniques of the European tradition as he worked alongside Seattle-area artists such as Benjamin Moore and Dante Marioni. He also had opportunities to learn the secrets of the Venetian glass masters while working with Italian legends Lino Tagliapietra, Pino Signoretto and others. In an early – and fortuitous – trip to Sweden to study Scandinavian design at Kosta Boda, Singletary met his future wife, who now resides in Seattle with him and their two children.

Singletary grew up hearing his culture’s traditional stories from his family – both of his great-grandparents were full-blooded Tlingit Indians — and many of those stories provide inspiration for his work. The formline design skills evident in so many of his pieces were acquired through study and collaboration with other prominent Northwest Coastal artists such as Steve Brown and Joe David. Singletary credits mentor Joe David for helping him to take his work to a new level, one that is more spiritually based and culturally expressive of the different Northwest Coast styles. With Northwest Native icons, supernatural beings, transformation themes, animal spirits, shamanism and basketry designs among his many inspirations, Singletary has transformed Northwest Native art and incited other Native artists to utilize the wonders of glass.

Recognized internationally, Singletary’s artworks are included in museum collections such as the National Museum of the American Indian (Washington DC), Museum of Fine Arts (Boston, MA), The Brooklyn Museum of Art (Brooklyn, NY) The Seattle Art Museum (Seattle, WA), the Corning Museum of Glass (Corning, NY), the Mint Museum of Art and Design (Charlotte, NC), the Heard Museum (Phoenix, AZ), and the Handelsbanken (Stockholm, Sweden). Singletary is a member of the Board of Trustees for Pilchuck Glass School and the Seattle Art Museum.

Artist Statment
Glass has a defining historic connection with Native Americans in the form of trade beads, which were quickly adopted as a form of ornamentation for clothes and other ceremonial objects. I feel that my work is an exploration of the material of glass and an interpretation of the feeling of Northwest coast art and its symbols. Glass has an inherent sculptural quality that showcases another dimension. I like to think of the shadows created by the glass as showing a fourth dimension of the piece –a sort of a kinetic sculpture that is only revealed when the lighting is right.

I started blowing glass directly out of high school and had the fortuitous opportunity to learn through practical experience. As I never went through university art school training, I learned about art by working with other artists and attending workshops at the Pilchuck Glass School. This experience prompted me to learn about art through what excited me or jarred my interest. In the beginning, this was specifically the act of blowing glass and creating European inspired decorative art pieces.

At some point I came across a catalog about the modern art movement and “primitivism.” I realized that there was a lot of dialogue about how modern art was influenced by art of “primitive” societies. These artists tried to embody the spirit of the objects created by other cultures that referenced man’s connection to nature and the cosmos. This was a turning point for me. My work began to take on a more figurative and narrative style with a new intent. I found a source of strength and power that brought me back to my family, society, and cultural roots.

I sometimes hope that people will view my work on other levels not associated with “ethnic art.” At the same time, it is this inspiration that gives my work its power. I see my work as an extension of tradition and a declaration that Native cultures are alive and developing new technologies and new ways of communicating the ancient codes and symbols of this land.